Not sentimental moments in Archie comics.

Have you have a special time in your life, when Archie Comics were important?

My late Mother taught me to read, with her 1950s vintage, coverless Archies.

Quote from: Captain Jetpack on November 22, 2019, 06:56:52 AMHave you have a special time in your life, when Archie Comics were important?

Not particularly. I really don't have anyone in my family that's into Archie. My mom bought me my first two digests, and I later learned my sister had bought her some Archies back in the 1970s or 1980s, so she could learn English, but she's not really into Archie. It's just something that I read for myself and discuss online.

Quote from: Captain Jetpack on November 22, 2019, 06:56:52 AMHave you have a special time in your life, when Archie Comics were important?

NOW. They're important now because, while at one time the type of comics (humorous, fun, lighthearted comics that portray a kind of idealized middle-American small town high school experience) that are in Archie comics was very common, those type of comics no longer exist -- anywhere BUT in Archie comics. So, like endangered species, sometimes we never really appreciate the things we always took for granted would be there, until they've all but disappeared.

For me, while I had developed an appreciation for Dan DeCarlo's work (and to a lesser extent, Dan Parent's) years beforehand, my attitude towards Archie comics was pretty casual -- I mean, they'd always be there whenever I got around to finding them, right? It took something like being hit over the head with a lead pipe to wake me up; a screaming headline like "THE DEATH OF ARCHIE". That was July of 2014. And luckily, at that time, you could still get just about every trade paperback and hardcover collection of Archie Comics that had ever been printed (by ACP, IDW, and Dark Horse, too). And indeed, as promised, the for-real final issue issue of ARCHIE, #666 (The Number of The Beast) rolled out barely a year later, signalling the end of an era that will never return. Sure, B&V continued for a little while longer, and there have been mini-series and one-shots (and the 5-pagers leading off the digests) since then, but we're never going back, so let's enjoy what little is left of classic Archie while it's still there.

When I was young, my parents didn't let me read superhero comics, but funny animals and Archie were okay. Jughead was my favorite and I still consider Mr. Jones a friend. Then, on one of those magical trips of a lifetime, my family and my grandmother and Uncle Bill traveled through many states seeing the sights and visiting family. In Atlanta, Georgia, I spied a comic with Superteen and Pureheart The Powerful in it. My parents let me get it!!! I was in ecstasy! To this day, I associate the Archie characters as superheroes with that trip and with family members who are no longer here. I soon discovered Captain Hero as well, and he, of course, was my favorite. Then as I was getting a little older, I still liked Archie Comics for the fast-paced humor and the way they sometimes would push the envelope a little in terms of sex and romance - and for the Good Girl Art. My sister and my female cousins would buy Betty And Veronica and Betty and Me while I would buy Archie and Jughead. I would make fun of my sister and cousins, but would read their copies and secretly be loving the comics without telling them why. Even in college, my friends and I would leaf through the Archie comics on the stands and buy and share ones that had that sex appeal. I equate Archie comics with those young, coming-of-age days.